The ritual performed by the Vietnamese octogenarians kicked off the Saturday celebration of the second annual pan-Asian Lunar New Year Festival, or Chinese New Year, in Kearny Mesa. The event began Friday and continues through Sunday.

Festival goers watched a pride of lion dancers - in sequined and furry black, white, red and purple - move to the beat of drums and cymbals. Their movements were meant to repel evil and bring luck for the new year.

Stacy Wen with the Blue Ming Chinese Dancers performed during the opening ceremony for second annual pan-Asian Lunar New Year Festival, or Chinese New Year, in Kearny Mesa.
— Nelvin C. Cepeda / U-T SAN DIEGO

“It’s our culture and it’s cool to keep the tradition going for generations,” said Madalyn Lee, 20, who presented a martial arts performance. She is part of White Dragon Martial Arts, whose members also performed the lion dances.

Organizers of the festival - which offers food, carnival rides and live performances - expect up to 12,000 people throughout the weekend. It is being hosted by the Little Saigon Foundation. Sunday the Miss Vietnamese Traditional Dress Beauty Pageant takes place and the UCSD Chinese Dance Association and The Plastic Revolution are expected to perform.

If you go:

What: Lunar New Year Festival

Where: Kearny Mesa Park, near Mesa College at 3170 Armstrong Street

When: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Cost: $5 for adults, $4 for kids

This calendar brings the year of the snake, which many view as timely for the world and the economy because snakes are known to shed their skins - to rejuvenate, organizers said.

“The snake represents deep thinking and intelligence,” said Su Nguyen, board member of the Little Saigon Foundation and an organizer of the festival. “We expect the economy will start fresh, improve, and hopefully the people who make decisions for us will do so with deep thinking to make things better for us especially in San Diego.”

A hallmark of the Chinese New Year is the gift of a red envelope for luck - it is most often stuffed with dollars - and is given by family and friends.

Nine-year-old Elaine Tran, who attended the festival in a long pink traditional Vietnamese dress called an Ao Dai, is excited to receive her envelope today.

“I get to hang out with my family and we get a red envelope,” she said before asking her mom if she could go on carnival rides.

For Luong Mai and Hoach Tran, who helped get the festival started, their wishes begin with knowing they were held for years as prisoners by communists in Vietnam before the war. Every new year, Mai wishes for Vietnam to be completely free of communism. The pair believe young people are the key.

“We want to keep the young generation following the culture of the Vietnamese,” Tran said. “Maybe they can change the democracy of the home country.”